California Brandy House

Welcoming CALIFORNIA BRANDY HOUSE

to Downtown Napa

 BY LAURIE JO MILLER FARR | PHOTOS COURTESY OF E. & J. GALLO – CALIFORNIA BRANDY HOUSE

E. & J. Gallo Winery has unveiled a brand-new California Brandy House for brandy lovers and wine lovers looking to try something new.

Opened in November 2020, this is the first stand-alone tasting room dedicated solely to luxury California brandies. What’s a brandy house, one may ask? A tasting room and bottle shop in one, there’s a lot to explore at downtown Napa’s newest addition to the First Street.

BRANDY INSIGHTS Unlike French cousins named for the regions like Cognac and Armagnac from which the brands originate, American brandy can come from just about anywhere. And because American brandy doesn’t have the same constraints and regulations as France imposes, there’s more freedom to innovate by combining methods and practices. American brandy may derive from New Jersey apples, Colorado pears, or Oregon plums as a subtle digestif or a key ingredient for a classic cocktail such as a Sidecar or Sazerac.

In California, the classic style is made from Central Valley grapes such as Colombard and Chardonnay. “Our California brandies, like Germain-Robin and Argonaut, are crafted from world-class white and red grape varieties exclusively grown on California soil,” said Britt West, Vice President and General Manager of Gallo Spirits, a division of E. & J. Gallo Winery. “These fine brandies are as rich, vibrant, and complex as the land itself. There is no better place than Napa Valley, the heart of wine country, to re-establish California brandy among the world’s best distilled spirits.”

CALLING ALL BRANDY LOVERS Californians account for almost 20% of the total consumption of brandy and Cognac in the United States. Guests discover California brandies through expert-guided tasting flights, and the house also pours limited offerings and single-barrel samples not available anywhere else. Both of California Brandy House’s labels use a wide range of California-grown grapes, from Colombard and Chenin Blanc to Grenache and Pinot Noir.

INSIDE CALIFORNIA BRANDY HOUSE The interior space acts as a bottle shop as well as a tasting room. Available for purchase, the Brandy House has three unique cocktail kits for mixing up cocktails at home. Guests can also purchase full bottles of Argonaut and Germain-Robin and have them engraved with a custom message, perfect for gifting or commemorating special occasions.

Cocktail kits available for purchase: Old Fashioned $85

● Argonaut Fat Thumb Brandy ● Argonaut Cherries ● Angostura Bitters ● Stirrings Simple Syrup ● Miner’s Map Cocktail Guide ● California Brandy House Lapel Pin (Limited Time Offer)

California Gold Rush $85

Note that California Brandy House visits are COVID-19 and CDC compliant. To ensure proper social distancing, reservations are recommended. Open Wednesday - Sunday, 12 pm – 7 pm

● Argonaut Fat Thumb Brandy ● Local Lemons ● Local Honey ● Argonaut Cherries ● Miner’s Map Cocktail Guide ● California Brandy House Lapel Pin (Limited Time Offer)

California Boulevardier $85

● Argonaut Speculator Brandy ● Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro ● Lo-Fi Sweet Vermouth ● Miner’s Map Cocktail Guide ● California Brandy House Lapel Pin (Limited Time Offer)